Flames
by CChan
Summary: *temporarily discontinued* *WIP Taichi x Yamato, Daisuke x Ken (maybe others)* AU, fantasy, character deaths, a little OOC, etc. Still the first chapter. Summary inside.


**Title**: Flames  
**Author**: CChan  
**Summary:** Taichi's past haunts him, transforming him completely and leading him to hate almost all of mankind. Will it take the abrupt appearance of a certain blonde to change his mind? And what are the mysterious connections in their past which bond them together?  
**WARNING**: AU, a little OOC for some characters, cursing, yaoi, taito lemon, daiken, hint of taishirou, little angst, character deaths, magic(k)  
**Note**: The idea's probably overused, but feh. *Shrugs* I think mine's a little different . . . I hope. I haven't been reading much fanfics lately. xP Anyway, it's sorta a fantasy story with a modern twist. (I'm a sucker for fantasy and fiction stories ^^;;) I used the Japanese names because I'm so unoriginal when it comes to thinking of new ones. 

Ages depend on when they are first introduced-  
Taichi- 16 then 17   
Hikari- 13 then 14  
Yamato- 17  
Ken- 14  
Takeru- 14  
Daisuke- 14  
Koushirou- 16  
Mimi- 16  
Sora- ?   


Not sure about the other characters. They might revolt against me and make sudden appearances in this fic. >.> 

Check my profile for the disclaimer. Flames (I don't mean the title of the fic ^_^;) are welcome. I want to know who will pass the 7-second record of making one.

Note on "Beginnings": I saved the few chapters on my computer and *of course* it had to crash. That's the order of my life: I save, the computer crashes. -_- I literally cried when that happened. ;_; My disks are also unreliable…they always either aren't accepted by my computer, or the files are messed up, or something. I've stopped depending on them. I have such a weird old computer… been spending most of my time trying to remember what I wrote in computer class and the library, but for now, please read this and rant at me in your review. xP 

- - -  
**Chapter 1**

The brunette stared at his hands in his lap, quietly thinking to himself. A lamp had not even been turned on; the room he sat in was completely dark, save for the weak sunlight shining in through the five high windows placed evenly around the room. But even these windows were cloaked in tall lacy shades, muting the rays of the evening sun.

A small albino mouse poked its head from its burrow, staring at the silent figure inquisitively with its milky pink eyes. Maybe he had food. The mouse twitched its whiskers in anticipation.

Some movement was heard near the door then, causing the mouse to veritably flee back to its home, but the brunette made no motion of looking up. "What is it?" he asked, his gaze still fixed on his hands.

The intruder hesitated a bit before speaking. "It's getting dark . . ." The girl's voice trailed off, a suggestive hint in her tone as she stared at the fireplace. 

"No."

"But . . ."

"No! I'm not doing it!"

The form by the door grimaced, even though she doubted the stubborn brunette could see. After a brief period of silence, a fire abruptly blazed in a nearby grate. This caused the mouse head at the opening of its hole to squeak in terror, disappearing into the far corners of its abode. It had a reason to feel the strange fright that welled in its chest: no one had moved from their places to light that fire.

The fire's gigantic flames illuminated the entire room as the sunlight had not, and the teenaged girl sighed unhappily as she stared at her brother's solemn features.

"Please don't beat yourself up over this," she moaned as she knelt before him and took his hands into hers. Seeing the somber expression on her brother's face, however, she reproached herself silently. It was utterly useless. Besides… "I've never seen you lose control before."

"You know why," the boy said softly, closing his eyes as if he were mentally punishing himself. The way he unconsciously clenched his sister's hands seemed to indicate the internal pain he was enduring. The girl winced a little, but said nothing. "It's my fault Hikari. All of it."

"You were provoked."

"That doesn't make it right for me."

Hikari didn't say anything, not trusting herself to respond to her brother's words. What he had said was half the truth. 

"I'm too ashamed to even go outside anymore," he continued, opening his eyes. "I don't want to." The pained expression so alien in his chocolate-brown orbs explained more than his words ever could.

So it had come to this. Hikari bit her lip. "I came to talk to you about that," she said just as quietly. Although they were alone, the feeling of utter, oppressive solitude emanating from the room seemed to encourage them to converse in low tones. She refused to meet her brother's eyes, sliding them towards the flames. "The villagers want us gone by tomorrow night. The king is willing to believe that it was an accident . . . but he said he didn't want any more of his people getting hurt."

Taichi laughed bitterly. His people, huh? I'm no longer one of "his" people. "In other words, they want *me* gone or they'll beat the living shit out of me if I just so much as blink at them. Hell, they'll even try attacking you." His face turned sorrowful and angry all at once, and he gritted his teeth, refocusing his gaze back to his lap. "Anyway, they're wrong. I don't deserve to be banished. I just deserve a quick death and nothing less."

Hikari frowned and tightened her hold on her brother's hand. "Don't you dare say that again, you hear me? Not ever."

The older brunette suddenly turned onto his sibling viciously. He pulled his hands away from her grasp and pushed his chair away from her with the heels of his feet. "If you haven't noticed, I've *killed* someone today! I've lost whatever few friends I've had, gained enemies, possibly permanently destroyed the only connection to love that I've ever known, and mother . . ." 

Suddenly, he choked on his sobs. Tears were beginning to stream down his face. "Mom . . . she's . . ."

Hikari stood up and encircled her arms around him. "She's going to be fine, okay? Just fine." The slight waver in her voice did nothing to convince him, but he clutched Hikari's arm tightly. A growing sense of calm was beginning to wash over him. Hikari . . .

"Hika-" 

"Sshh," his sister soothed, brushing a few strands of loose hair away from his forehead. Like a woman calming her crying child during a lightning storm. Taichi submitted to her affectionate touches, suddenly feeling drowsy. Then he jumped. 

"What's the news about you and mom?"

"I'll be with her all the time," Hikari said firmly. "I've healed some of her minor wounds, but I can only do so much. What we need is a professional healer, and mother suggested Jyou. You remember Jyou don't you, the hermit who lives near the mountains?"

Taichi nodded vaguely. "He's not…he's not going to turn you guys out…for what I did?"

"Who, Jyou?" She smiled. "He's a dear pussycat. He can never turn away from someone that's harmed…and he knows what you're capable of. He trusts you."

"He trusted the wrong person," Taichi muttered darkly. He stared suspiciously at his sister. "You're not telling me something."

Hikari bowed her head. "Mother…mother and I…we decided that you…"

A long silence pursued, and then Taichi nodded his head, as if he were acknowledging a point an invisible someone had just made. A point that only he and Hikari seemed to hear. "I deserved that. I understand."

"I'm sorry."

From there, Taichi stood up and hugged his sister. "Forget about it. Don't feel bad, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. I just know it."

Large creases appeared on Hikari's forehead. "But what if 'she'-"

"'She' won't be doing anything for awhile," Taichi interrupted. "I have the feeling that "she's" preoccupied with something. We're safe."

Hikari could only smile both tentatively and sadly as a response. As they both walked towards the door, arm in arm, she never lifted her gaze from her brother's; only when they were within several inches from the door did she look at the blazing fire. Just as quickly as it had arrived, it disappeared with a faint pop. 

When she once more looked at her brother in the dim light, Hikari noticed a faint scowl on his features. "What's wrong?"

Taichi's frown deepened. "I hate them."

Her heart leapt to her throat. "Who do you hate?"

Taichi dragged her to a window in the hallway. Down below, people were swarming about their daily business. Booths were being shut down, horses were lugging the days' leftovers of produce towards their owners' respective homes, and one could hear the faint chatter of people below through the thin windowpane. The sun setting in the distance splashed gorgeous colors of orange, red, and gold on the marketplace. Dogs barked, some of them knawing on bones and wagging their tails playfully. Children running about laughed uproariously. Occasionally, several of the adult townspeople would look up towards the window and, noticing Taichi's hard stare, would duck their heads and walk quickly away. Some were whispering to each other in small groups.

"All of them. I hate them." If only he hadn't trusted them…

Normally Hikari would have objected. Despite the dark stares that were appearing frequently below them, the town looked beautiful today, so energetic, so *alive*. These people spent most of their time standing on their feet, trying their best to sell their wares and earn a living. They looked cheerful enough; happy and carefree even. 

Then she remembered the screams. Her mother's screams at first, coupled with jeers and mocking laughter. Then the laughter turned to even more screams. And all the time, fire continued to crackle and spread . . . People choking, trying to gain a fresh breath from amid the heavy smoke. And one person, lying under the weight of a heavy tree branch, unable to get up because his legs had been shattered by the blow . . . and his hair was quickly catching on fire . . .

He was unable to scream because the smoke gagged him…

_ "Taichi! Taichi, please, where is my father?!"_

She seized her brother's arm, gently pulling him away from the window and from his memories. 

The mouse had heard every word of the conversation, although it had absolutely no idea what the words meant and was mystified. Well, whatever, it had a job to do. Slowly, as its small beating heart gradually calmed down, it emerged from its hiding spot and sniffed the floorboards. Surely such persons, even as peculiar as these, were likely to leave some crumbs behind.

- - -  
[One year later]

Wolves howling in the distance. Danger.

_ Run. Run or die._

The moon looked as clear as ever in these woodlands, but the blonde did not stop to admire it. The trees loomed around him, seeming to try to grasp him with their sharp branches. 

_ Run or die, little boy. _

There was a rustle and large noises crashing behind him, but he didn't turn around to look. To turn around would be to waste precious energy, energy that was rapidly depleting. Already he was losing stamina. His breath was turning shallow and he could hear the blood pounding furiously in his ears. His pant legs were shredded from running amid razor-edged plants, and he could feel the blood flowing freely from his cuts. He felt like a caged animal, trying to disappear from a black darkness that threatened to engulf him.

_ Run, run, run. Like the scared little rabbit you are. Prey._

He moved his arms back and forth like pistons, and his legs stretched as far as they could to cover more distance. Even with this technique, he realized that he couldn't run forever. Soon he would have to face the terror behind him and try to kill it. For a second, he touched the handle of the sword hanging near his side with his fingertips. It felt almost as puny as a stick. Still…kill or be killed. 

_ Run . . ._

He didn't notice the large tree root protruding in his path. With a grunt, he found himself lying on his stomach, and only realized this when he felt a sharp pain shoot from his right foot to his thigh. Twisted ankle, his muddied brain was able to process. A small bed of sharp rocks had somehow gathered near the tree, and several came into contact with his stomach painfully. He cursed, banging his fist on the stones. Vulnerable.

_ …Die. You're dead little rabbit. _

Quickly he tried to rise, hurry, hurry, crawl into the brushes and keep on crawling. His hands twinged with pain from the chafes they had suffered whilst scraping themselves on the rough stones. They refused to push up his already aching body. He couldn't even move his foot without feeling pain.

"Shit. Oh shit, no."

_ Die. _

With a shudder he gave up and collapsed to the ground, strangely grateful for the rest. But that soon wiped out of his mind as he noticed something. 

Quiet. Everything was so quiet. Not even the crickets were chirping.

He didn't believe for a second that he had somehow escaped that *thing* chasing him. Damn it, it had been right behind him, a couple of feet away. 

Some ferns rustled somewhere and then the blonde heard it: a sinister slithering, a faint noise that sounded like the mix of a low chuckle and a growl.

_ Die little rabbit. Bye-bye._

He was a goner. Frantically he clawed at the earth, trying to rise. Hopeless. He was better off trying to locate the noise and figuring a plan of action. 

Fuck the plan of action, his mind screamed at him. You can barely move, idiot!

"Shut UP!" he shouted. He didn't care that he might be crazy, talking to himself, he just wanted to be anywhere but here. 

Something whipped out in front of him, so furiously fast that Yamato couldn't, at first, figure out what it was. Then he felt something bite his arm and screamed. That something – it must have been a head – let go of its prey and snarled something unintelligible, giving the blonde the time to turn around on his back (painfully) and get a better look. He regretted it the instant he did, however. 

The thing looked like a gigantic cobra, although it wasn't really. Instead of the scaly flesh normal snakes had, it oozed slime the color of a putrid yellow and green. It had no eyes, just a mouth filled with so many serrated rows of sharp teeth. Yamato gagged at its stench of death, and he wanted to vomit. The thought of choking on his own vomit was what forced him to keep it down. 

It – the thing - swayed to and fro, musing on the right method to breaking its victim and going immediately for the kill. It lingered longer near his legs, which were torn and bleeding profusely. The smell of blood made it smile appreciatively…was it a smile? It opened its mouth and showed its fangs, looking frighteningly like a regular smile. 

Its teeth…it had bit his right arm, the one he had to use to dislodge his sword from its sheath. Even in the dim moonlight he could see the blood running down from gaping holes ripped in his silky shirt. The sheath was on the left side of his body. Even if he was able to somehow get his sword with his left hand, he would never be able to use it well without being first bitten to death. His sword was useless as a weapon now. 

His arm was also getting horribly cramped. Yamato hoped that the thing didn't have poisoned incisors. If it was, would the poison seep slowly through his veins or go quickly, causing him instant death? 

He shook his head. Stop it!

Yamato occupied his rampant thoughts by looking at the cord or long body that the horrible head was attached to; it suggested that it was connected to something bigger. It was almost like one could compare it proportionately to the size of a human pinky finger to the human body. He did not want to know what that bigger thing was. 

Hissing in anticipation, the head lunged forward, towards his throat. Using his good leg, Yamato swung a heavy kick at it, catching it by its big ugly face. It floundered towards the ground, disoriented, but not really hurt. 

He had to get away. The blonde tried using his elbows to get further away from it. Ignore the pain, he could live with pain. 

Something else flew past his face, and he could see the familiar length of slime. Oh shit. 

Whatever this big thing was, he had plenty of smaller heads to keep Yamato company. 

"Why don't you leave me alone!" Yamato cried uselessly to the unresponsive head. "Why don't you just leave me the hell alone?!"

Of course, it didn't answer. He didn't expect it to. And he knew why it was following him. Its stink was the one thing that made it clear. 

The thing came up and licked the blonde's cheek with its slimy black forklike tongue. Yamato felt utterly disgusted but he didn't jerk back lest it surprise that repulsive head and attack him. It was playing with him, feeding off of his fear. The other disoriented one was starting to hiss again. Bad sign. 

The teasing head grew bored of its own game and decided that it had had enough fun. It lunged for the blonde's face. Yamato shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the horror of his attacker up close. 

He expected the teeth to grab his hair or forehead, drive the fangs through his skull, drink the life out of him…it never happened. Come to think of it, the other one had stopped hissing also. The night was abruptly filled with dreadfully loud and wracking shrieks of pain that not one head could have made. Cautiously, Yamato opened a curious eye and gasped. 

Both of the heads had been ripped from their cords, lying in slime. Their destroyer was…he was human! Yamato nearly cried with relief. 

The brunette had been kneeling beside the heads, seeming to examine them. Now he stood up, staring with cool indifference at the direction of where the screams of rage came. Almost about ten heads of all shapes and sizes had appeared before him, snapping their teeth in anger. 

Yamato didn't know exactly what happened next, but…it was almost as if the guy had made a sweeping motion with his arm…as if his arm was a blade although it didn't look like it…thick black liquid spurted from the heads, cut off…black blood…

More screams interrupted the blonde's thoughts, and he covered his ears. This screaming was of a new volume; it penetrated through his pathetic barrier and made him wish he were dead. Make it stop, I'll go crazy, make it stop…

The stranger seemed unaffected. Instead, he knelt before Yamato and laid his hand on his forehead. Suddenly, the screams were cut off, as if someone had shut the door to hell and hell was a soundproof room. 

"W-what did y-you do?" Yamato's teeth chattered. He suddenly felt cold. 

"Stay close to me," Taichi responded. Taking note of the blood evident on the blonde's body and the weird angle his ankle was set on, he lifted him up easily into his arms. Yamato didn't have the strength to complain…it was kind of nice, warm…body heat… what? He blinked through his tingly haze, then focused on the present. Taichi casually leaned against a tree. Where did he think he was, at some old village playing with little children?

"What are you doing!" Yamato whispered furiously. "Shouldn't we be finding a place to hide or something?"

Taichi ignored him. The blonde blew a frustrated breath up to his drooping hair. Out of all the jerks in this world, I had to be stuck with this one…

BAM.

The ground shook so rapidly that Yamato yelped in surprise and tightened his grip on Taichi's shoulder. The brunette was still indifferent. Either that or he was a really good actor.

BAM. BAM. BAM!

Now Yamato could discern the noise. It was the sound of something huge being painfully shoved into the face of the earth. But why couldn't he hear the screams? There were bound to be some screams with that kind of torture. 

Now that he thought of it, he hadn't been able to hear any loud noises ever since the brunette had laid his hand on his forehead. Yamato stared at him, frowning. What…abilities…did this man have?

Feeling his gaze, Taichi turned to stare back. What did this person do to call one of the Demons? He seemed almost too pretty to cause trouble… but he's human. Humans always caused trouble. 

Those eyes. They were such beautiful eyes. Even in this light, Yamato could see the deep chocolate brown splashed with a faint yellow – such an unusual color. He could drown in them, swim in the delicious chocolate syrup…Yamato wished he knew what the strange brunette was thinking. 

The last echoes of banging died away, and the trembling ground soon came to a halt. Taichi was the first to break the gaze. "We couldn't find a place to hide because it was trained to find you. Either way, you would have ended up dead, no matter where you went." He glared at the blonde. "Who are you?"

"I should be asking the same thing." Eyes or not, this guy was starting to irritate him. The spell, or whatever this brunette magician had put on Yamato was beginning to die away. He could hear the monster giving one last, loud gasp of air. Its defeat was obvious…but the power it must have taken for it to die so easily…

"Look, don't get smart with me. I-"

"Yamato! Yamaaatooo!"

A raven-haired boy was running towards them, waving his hands in the air and shouting his fool head off. Taichi shook his head in amusement. Where had the pretty-boy convention suddenly come from? 

Reaching them, the young boy gasped for air, resting his hands on his knees as he did so. Yamato was furious.

"Ken! I thought I told you to stay at that village we went through! It wasn't after you, it was after me and you could have been killed!"

"I'm…sorry," Ken said between large gulps of air, "just…please King, you…couldn't leave you…"

"Wait, time out," Taichi looked dubiously at the blonde in his arms. "You're a king?"

Ken gave him a withering look. Hadn't he just said that? He was a lord wasn't he, and a trustworthy one.

"So?" Yamato would have wanted to stand up, but his ankle prevented him. He gave a wince of pain as the memory of it returned. 

"Are you all right?" Ken asked. Taichi set down the blonde and tested his ankle.

"Oh -" Yamato strung along a line of curse words, many that Ken was sure were taken from different languages. Taichi wasn't impressed. 

"His ankle's broken," Taichi reported. As if that wasn't obvious. He looked around. "Well?"

Yamato and Ken stared. "Well, what?" Ken spluttered in indignation. "He needs a healer!"

Taichi's voice was heavy with sarcasm. "Where are your guards, the horses, the carriage, the works? If he's such an important King – and I'm guessing that you," he pointed to Ken ,"are either one of his servants or also someone of high status – why aren't they here, trying to protect him? Or are they all killed by that monster?" He laughed harshly. 

"I came by myself," Yamato said softly. "I didn't want anyone hurt. Ken also came because…the predicament we were in…it's very complicated."

Taichi was silent for a minute. Like…was he sorry for what he said earlier? Apologetic? The blonde crushed his own hopes. This man had about as much emotion as a plain wooden table. 

Strong arms gathered beneath him and Yamato found himself in Taichi's arms again. "What are you doing now?" Yamato said heavily. Considering that his only friend seemed Ken at the moment, and he was powerless… Yamato no longer felt the strength to go on…

"Do you trust me?"

The words were spoken surprisingly gently, right by his ear. Yamato fought back a deep blush as he stared at those captivating eyes again. All he had ever said was something against him, but…somehow Yamato sensed something different about this person…

Ken shuffled his feet. Whatever was going on between them seemed important and he didn't want to interfere…but he was getting impatient. That monster had scared him completely…he had gotten a glimpse of its dead, bulky form and he doubted he would be able to sit still ever again. He had to run away and heave in the grass somewhere, trying to erase the memory from his mind…if they were up against such power…but he was strong, he could do it, right? 

Yamato gave a quick nod at his savior, as if embarrassed. Taichi smiled at this, a slow real smile that suited his face more than the hardened scowl ever did. 

"Close your eyes."

Obediently Yamato closed them, burrowing his head into the crook of Taichi's neck. He felt that fuzzy, warm feeling enveloping him again…it was confusing…

Taichi motioned to Ken to take his arm and close his eyes too, which he did with a slight bit of distaste. He wasn't a child anymore…but…if this was the only way to get far away from that monster, so be it. 

Several leaves fell from their boughs as a sudden wind circled around the trio. The crisp brown leaves of fall fell towards the empty spot on the ground. They were gone.

- - - 

"This is bad."

"No, no, this is only the beginning. I have been expecting them to meet."

"It may lengthen our search."

"That may be true. But we have a lead now."

The smaller figure was confused by her logic, but bowed anyway. Majesty had always shown such shrewd cunning in times like these. "What will you do now, Majesty?"

A glint of jewels in the faded light that was provided for the two. White teeth gleamed. 

"What do you think? His brother appears delicious."

- - -

Takaishi Takeru whistled as he walked down the dark corridors. Ever since his brother had gone off on his quest, Takeru had faithfully run the kingdom in his brother's absence as the temporary king. He mostly relied on his advisors and his mother, however. After all, how did they expect me to run this vast kingdom at only 14?

Heaving a great sigh, he opened the great oak doors to his chamber. They creaked slowly, like they usually did…but something made him pause. Something didn't feel right…

It was probably just the stress. Shrugging, he flipped on a switch. His room stayed in darkness. 

Alarm bells rang inside his head, but his curiosity overcame it. Hesitantly, he turned the switch down, then back up again. The chandelier flickered, then went on. There was nothing suspicious in the room. 

Huh.

Scratching his head, Takeru entered his chambers, frowning at the chandelier fixed in the middle of his ceiling.

The door shut behind him. He whirled around in surprised. He hadn't touched the door. 

The lights sputtered, then went off. And stayed off.

"What the-" Takeru's sentence was cut off as something…something with glowing green eyes was gazing at him from where his bed would be! 

Suddenly he knew. He knew what was going on. 

"MOMMA!" he screamed loudly, praying that someone, anyone, would hear him. Once you were in their power, you could never escape. 

The green-eyed horror shrieked its pleasure in an eerie high-pitched voice, coming closer, ever so slowly closer. Other eyes were beginning to appear, more hissing was ensuing. A noise that sounded a lot like flapping wings filled the entire room. The stench of sulfur was so horrible that Takeru dropped to his knees and gagged. 

Someone pounded on the door. His mother. She sounded hysterical. "Takeru?! Takeru, are you in there? Open up! Guards! Kick this door open! _Hurry!_"

Something encircled his arms, bonded them to the sides of his body. He was trapped. Too late, they were going to be too late to save him. 

The things were all circled around him, the multitude of green evil eyes. Their leader, the one who had been on his bed, stood only inches from his face, grinning maliciously. Takeru saw a glance of the saliva-moistened teeth before...the leader screeched. Slimy, thick bodies began to jump upon him and he screamed…

Darkness.

- To be continued -

Comments? Criticism? Like the fic, don't like? Review! ^_^


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